In the fall of 2009, our local builders association in Porter County, Indiana, organized a Green Homes on Parade event. Our primary goals were to provide numerous avenues for professional and public education, certify each home to meet the requirements of at least the Gold level of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Guidelines and/or Standards, keep the homes affordable, valued at no more than $250,000 including landscaping, and to recycle nearly all of our construction waste.  While the parade was successful in all respects, including education, as well as waste recycling and reduction, we unfortunately discovered that even with our best intentions to recycle construction waste, there was no guarantee that the material we intended for recycling would still not end up in a landfill.  Locally, there are several waste handling firms who could place containers on site for both separated and comingled construction waste.  The parade builders contracted with one firm who placed separate containers for wood and cardboard and another for comingled materials. 

We also required the drywall hanging contractors to remove drywall scraps and take them to a separate facility.  While our intentions were honest and good, and we made every effort to only place the correct materials in each container, the lesson that we learned was that material recycling, and the after-market for resale and reuse of construction material, still has some maturing to do and that as builders, we needed to work on waste reduction as well as relying on recycling firms.  As with any industry, the marketability for certain materials or services is not constant for a variety of reasons.  As one who calls himself a green builder, and not one involved in the waste management industry, I approach this subject with a strong feeling of responsibility to do my best to reduce my own construction generated waste material, to incorporate methods and materials that promote the use of recycled materials in my projects and to share my experiences to encourage other builders as well.

With respect to waste reduction for the homes built for the Green parade, the builders did fairly well.  Five homes were built and the containers were only emptied once during the parade construction period.  While obviously better results than on a typical single family home jobsite, we still wanted to do more and felt the need to take more responsibility for material waste reduction.  As each builder designed his or her home, they learned through the green rating and evaluation process how to value engineer the project to make more efficient use of materials, building systems and even time.  What we also discovered is that reducing our material usage was not difficult, and not necessarily more costly, but sometimes even cost effective as well as offering the added benefit of reducing cycle time, material disposal fees and labor costs for jobsite cleanup.

Interestingly, not one house was built the same way as another, but each utilized different methods, materials and processes.  Examples include an all SIP home with ICF foundation, a modular home, conventional site framed homes with various types of envelop and insulation methods and a site built home using locally fabricated panelized walls and a precast concrete foundation wall system.  The latter is the house I worked on.  To use it for an example, the value engineering methods and processes actually provided numerous benefits.  By utilizing locally made panelized walls and trusses, and the precast foundation wall system, the 1400+ square feet home on a full basement w/ detached alley load garage was completed in less than 70 days, from start of excavation to final landscaping including complete interior decorating and furnishing.  Panelizing the walls and using roof trusses kept the waste in the local fabrication plant where is could be reused into products like the finger-jointed wall studs and OSB sheathing that were used throughout the house.  An added benefit is that the house was dried-in quickly enough that the subflooring and framing was never rained on.  This is sometimes nothing short of a miracle in a Northwest Indiana fall.

One important aspect of engineering the houses for material usage reduction involved a change in conventional framing techniques that did create some hurdles with the local building official.  Framing interior non-load bearing walls at 24” on center versus 16” was not a major problem for the inspector, but not installing headers above interior doors in non-load bearing interior walls did create some issues, and a lot of still-unresolved discussion.

Another important aspect of waste reduction is the reuse of construction material, whether salvaged or recycled.  This not only keeps material out of landfills, but also provides a much-needed market stabilizer for incorporating waste materials into usable construction products.  Some of the recycled and reused materials used in the parade homes include, finger-jointed studs, drywall made with the flyash byproduct from a local coal power generating plant, engineered lumber of numerous types, crushed concrete from demolished roads and driveways, recycled material kitchen countertops, floor coverings made from recycled (and recyclable) materials and more.  Many builders also purchased materials from manufacturers known to reduce and reuse much of their byproduct or waste materials either back into the product or for some other practical use.

I refer back to the Green Parade, and the value engineering, evaluation and planning processes involved in the NAHB green certification program, as a great learning tool and school for a task that can sometimes seem overwhelming at first.  While many of us are motivated by the moral and ethical aspects concerning generating less waste and keeping as much as possible out of landfills, I have also found there to be some very practical and tangible benefits we can realize as builders and business owners as well.  For the purely pragmatic types I also point out the tremendous advantages the practices and materials mentioned above have to offer.  These being reduced cycle times, decreased carrying costs, less labor time to pay for, often less material cost, reduced waste disposal fees, quicker escrow closings, improved reputation and market advantage, and more.

About the Author
John, a Certified Green Professional and Certified Graduate Builder (NAHB), holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and has studied architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He specializes in both custom and semi- custom affordable green/sustainable new construction and remodeling residential and light commercial projects in Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.  He is passionate about educating professionals and the public about green/sustainable building and land development through his active involvement in his local and state builder’s associations as well as public speaking.

John Kremke II CGP, CGB
J Kremke Construction Enterprises LLC
314 Springview Drive
Porter, Indiana 46204
john@mygreenbuildingsoltuions.com
http://www.mygreenbuildingsolutions.com